Journal
AMERICAN MINERALOGIST
Volume 101, Issue 12, Pages 2611-2619Publisher
MINERALOGICAL SOC AMER
DOI: 10.2138/am-2016-5769
Keywords
Apatite; apatite; radionuclides; radionuclides; sorption; remediation
Categories
Funding
- U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration [DE-AC04-94AL85000]
- DOE Office of Nuclear Energy, Office of Used Nuclear Fuel Disposition
- DOE Office of Legacy Management
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A growing body of research supports widespread future reliance on apatite for radioactive waste cleanup. Apatite is a multi-functional radionuclide sorbent that lowers dissolved radionuclide concentrations by surface sorption, ion exchange, surface precipitation, and by providing phosphate to precipitate low-solubility radionuclide-containing minerals. Natural apatites are rich in trace elements, and apatite's stability in the geologic record suggest that radionuclides incorporated into apatite, whether in a permeable reactive barrier or a waste form, are likely to remain isolated from the biosphere for long periods of time. Here we outline the mineralogic and surface origins of apatite-radionuclide reactivity and show how apatites might be used to environmental advantage in the future.
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